Drawing from literature, religion, history, art, and philosophy, Melanie Thernstrom traces conceptions of pain throughout the ages—from ancient Babylonian pain-banishing spells to modern brain imaging—to reveal the elusive, mysterious nature of pain itself. Interweaving first-person reflections on her own battle with chronic pain and incisive reportage from leading pain clinics and medical research, Thernstrom shows that when dealing with pain we are neither as advanced as we imagine nor as helpless as we may fear.

"If you are one of the more than 70 million Americans who suffer from chronic hurt, The Pain Chronicles could very well be the first time you hear from someone who speaks your language."—Time